George's Greek Cafe

George's Greek Cafe
135 Pine Ave
Long Beach
562-437-1184

George's actually had two locations in Long Beach. The one on 2nd St that I already reviewed and this one on Pine Ave. They used to be a little further north on Pine but moved to what used to be Mariposa back in August of 08.

I ordered the grilled swordfish, marinated in lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and garlic, $17.95. A huge piece of swordfish came with rice and veggies. What a wonderful, flavorful piece of swordfish. Cooked just right,moist, not dry, with a bit of a tangy flavor due to the lemon juice.

Service was great. The server was very attentive, friendly, and hard working.

I would go back to George's anytime. I like this location better, because it's much bigger than the 2nd St location. The food quality is the same. But it's more comfortable and relaxing to have dinner at the Pine Ave location.

Papadakis Taverna-Closed

Papadakis Taverna
301 W 6th St
San Pedro
310-548-1186

Papadakis Taverna is owned by former USC football player John Papadakis. They opened the restuarant in 1973 and has been a staple of San Pedro ever since. You are greeted with a firm hand shake by John, the man is like 6'4 and built like a damn building, of course he's going to have a firm handshake. From then on you're treated like a king.

I ordered the salmon, $25.95, with soup and salad. The soup was a lemon rice soup. Not too sour, with plenty of rice. The salad was romaine lettuce topped with feta cheese and Greek dressing. The dressing was very good, not too sour like most Greek dressings can be. Fresh lettuce and feta cheese made this a good salad.

Before you order they bring out a tray of meat and explain what is on the menu. On the tray they don't look that big, but once on your plate they are huge. The salmon was huge, the menu says 14 oz, but I bet this salmon was at least a pound. The salmon was grilled to perfection with a tangy sauce. They don't ruin a simpe good piece of fish with a bunch of junk. They provide a mustard mayo sauce for the salmon and that just made a great dish better. This was well worth the price.

Service was great. Besides John being a great host, the server was nice and friendly. Drinks were refilled quickly, dishes were cleared, we didn't lack for anything.

I would go back to Papadakis any time. During dinner you are treated to dancing by John and his niece. A belly dancer and the breaking of plates. If you never been to a real Greek restaurant, you need to go to Papadakis. You are treated not like a number but like family.

George's Greek Cafe

George's Greek Cafe
5316 E 2nd St
Long Beach
562-433-1755

George's Greek Cafe was a real treat. I haven't had much experience with Greek food. But we decided to go to George's Greek Cafe on 2nd St in Belmont Shore.

We started with an appetizer, hummus, $4.25. This was a very smooth and fresh hummus.

I got the chicken souvlakia, $11.95 with rice and steamed veggies. The chicken was marinated with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and spices like oregano. The chicken was all white meat and was tender and juicy. The marinated added a unique flavor, much different than the flavor of kabobs. I really liked this dish. I thought the portion was a bit small for the price but the quality was top notch.

The rice is cooked in a chicken brooth and was outstanding. The steamed veggies included broccolli, carrots and green beans and was cooked just right. Not mushy with a nice snap or crisp.

Service was very good. Our server explained to us how they marinated and cooked the dishes. We did not lack for water and our food came out quickly.

I would go back to George's anytime. What a great treat.

UPDATE Feb 27, 2008



I went back to George's to try the beef souvlakia, $11.95. The spices were the same as the chicken, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and spices like oregano. But I didn't like the quality of the beef. It was very tough, not tender at all. It tasted like those process beef products. Very chewy and not juicy at all.

Service was still very good. I would not try the beef souvlakia again.